ron@trsvax.UUCP (11/20/83)
#N:trsvax:52800004:000:16538
trsvax!ron Nov 10 23:05:00 1983
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* T h e W 5 Y I R e p o r t *
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* Vol 5 #22 - 11/15/83 *
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In this issue:
- Grenada and Ham Radio - What Really Happened!
- FCC to Test Hams Quarterly
The full ten-page biweekly newsletter is available
by mail for $18 per year from Fred Maia at PO Box 10101, Dallas, TX 75207.
May be reproduced providing credit is given to The W5YI Report.
- Grenada and Ham Radio - What Really Happened!
The week of October 24th was to have been a very special one for
amateur radio. It was delayed only to be outdone by another precedent setting
ham radio spectacular... Grenada. It caught most ham operators by surprise and
much misinformation exists. What follows is a researched account of amateur
radio involvement in the Grenadian invasion and evacuation.
The chancellor of the Grenada St. George's Medical School heard a news
report describing the invasion of the island of Grenada, West Indies. Concerned
with the safety of hundreds of American students, he quickly telephoned Dick
Zaretsky (WB2VGL/4) of West Palm Beach, Florida, with a request to establish
contact with amateurs at the medical facility. They had previously arranged
that Dick would go on the air in the event of trouble.
Dick hadn't operated HF ham radio since the early 1970's but set up a
station specifically to operate with Grenada in the event of an emergency. It
was set up just the week end before the invasion but due to a defective relay,
couldn't be used. He arranged with WA2HOC/4 and WA2HOD/4 (James and Janet
Nunziato of Jupiter, Florida) to assist with an HF link and via a 2 meter
autopatch hooked Grenada into St. George's University in New York who had
already been contacted by another amateur, K4DMK (Jack Mays of Folkston,
Georgia).
Using the Nunziato's HF rig, Dick introduced himself to Mark Barattella
(KA2ORK/4),a medical student, who recognized him from his previous involvement
with the school. He told Mark that he had the New York line open to the
University and would continue to keep it open. It ended up being a 36 hour
phone call! Dick told Mark to drop the J3 suffix to facilitate communications.
Mark told Dick how he heard airplanes in the area. This was about 5:45
a.m. Tuesday morning, October 25th. A few minutes later Mark reported the
shooting. Amateurs driving to work in West Palm Beach overheard a very
interesting 2-meter net on the 147.885/285 repeater that morning as well as
those listening to Mark on HF! The HF conversation remained on the two meter
autopatch since the Nunziato's did not have a telephone in their ham shack.
Dick Zaretsky called the Department of State to relay to them a Radio
Free Grenada transmission that he thought was coded concerning the "marriage of
certain students that occurred at 6 AM that morning," the time of the invasion.
None of the networks or news services knew anything about the invasion since
there was a news blackout! Reporters on the island had been taken off before
the invasion and none were allowed in. The amateur radio hookup to Grenada
provided the first news of it.
The Department of Defense apparently had gone to great pains to perform
the invasion under cover of a news blackout and here was a ham radio eyewitness
under a table with helicopters and gunfire overhead broadcasting it to the
world! Needless to say, since the media was prevented from covering the
invasion... radio, television and newspaper coverage of Mark Baratella's ham
radio transmissions were followed very closely.
Within moments of notification of the emergency, amateur operators in
key locations were activated. Special authorization (which is covered in Part
97.107) for amateur radio operation during declared emergencies was obtained
through the help of Don Kay (K0IND, Delray Beach, Florida) and Jack Mays
(K4DMK, Folkston, Georgia).
Because of the gravity of the situation, in-band and out-of-band
frequencies were requested in order to secure the most interference free
frequencies. The FCC in Washington granted the proper authorization within
minutes of the request.
A vigil was conducted throughout different bands and frequencies
authorized amateurs for the duration of the emergency. DUe to radio wave
propagation differences, it was necessary to utilize control operators
at different geographical locations and frequencies.
Mark Barattella did a magnificent job of operating under incredibly
adverse conditions. Emergency power was used during the greatest portion of the
time. Refueling was a problem since their personal safety was imperiled every
time they ventured outside the facility. The Grand Anse campus which housed 176
Americans did not have U.S. military protection from the beginning of the
invasion until the actual evacuation.
Mr. Reed Clark, of the US State Department, Grenada Task Force desk
conveyed messages of great importance and received status reports from Grenada
via amateur radio which was the only link between those 176 Americans isolated
in a foreign country beseiged by war.
The State Department was particularly concerned with the Grenadian
government in conjunction with Cuban advisers might hold the American students
hostage. Evidence was found later supporting such a plan. Amateur Radio kept
the State Department aware of the status of the students.
At 4:10 PM EDT, Wednesday, the 26th of October, the students at the
Grand Anse facility were evacuated by US military helicopters. The
actual Grenada emergency pertaining to amateur radio was then terminated
thirty-six hours after its inception.
On October 28th, the ARRL released the following news bulletin, "The
FCC has high praise for radio amateurs and the role they played in the recent
Grenada situation. The Commission waived some of its rules to facilitate
communication by KA2ORK, Mark Baratella, and other assisting operators. In the
Commission's words, (quote) 'At all times the paramount interest of this agency
was the safety and welfare of the medical students on the Grenada campuses. Mr.
Baratella and the amateur radio operators assisting him provided valuable
services in relaying information as to the safety of the medical students and
their familities and as to the general situation existing at the Grenada
station.' (unquote)"
- Ham Operation In and Out of Band
I had several questions that I thought should be discussed concerning
the Grenada ham emergency operation and severl involved individuals were
telephoned. One of those questions concerned amateur operation out of the ham
band.
Mr. Bill Russell is the FCC Director of Public Affairs in
Washington. He said that the State Department requested permission for voice
operation in the code subband of the 20-meter band on Tuesday, October 25th.
This was granted in the portion between 14.040 and 14.045 MHz. At night,
out-of-band operation was granted to about six amateurs 1 KHz above the 40 and
80 meter bands dur to interference.
One of these amateurs (K4MM Bill Miller of Fairfax Station, VA) told me
that this interference was principally from American amateurs. There was,
however, some QRM from Spanish speaking stations - Cuba and South America. One
message came across in CW, "Yankee Go Home."
The amateur operation was called the Grenada Emergency Net by the Net
Control Don Kay (K0IND/4), once approval was obtained for other than standard
amateur frequencies. Don Kay said he was in telephone contact with both the
Department of Defense and the Pentagon during the crisis but he declined to
discuss it further.
While it appears no FCC official actually gave specific permission for
operation on 14.351 MHZ when the operation returned to 20 meters, the FCC
decided to allow the net to continue there. The logic by the net was that since
out-of-band operation was authorized on 40 and 80 meters, it must be OK to
operate 1 KHz above the 20 meter band too.
I am unable to come up with the name of the FCC individual that
actually gave approval for the 40 and 80 meter out-of-band operation. The
approval was relayed to the net by the FCC Watch Officer in Washington through
the FCC Field Office in Ft. Lauderdale. It was rumored, but never confirmed,
that the FCC Chairman, Mark Fowler, was involved in the decision.
Bill Russell of the FCC said that he believed Mark Barattella probably
made the 14.351 decision. Russell said that the State Department reported on
the 14.351 MHz operation and the FCC said, "we don't care." The amateurs
involved were told, "Just keep doing what you are doing because it is an
essential service." They considered this being authorized.
The FCC cancelled all authorization for phone use of CW subbands and
non-amateur frequencies by radio amateurs on Wednesday, October 26th. On Friday
morning, the FCC sent out the following electronic mail to all district Field
Operations Bureau offices throughout the nation.
(Quote) "One of the objectives during the invasion of Grenada was to
secure the campus of the medical school where a large number of American
students were in attendance. Both the US forces and the Cuban were trying to
gain the same objective. An amateur station located on
the campus was apparently the only point of communication with anyone at the
school and because of this, the US State Department requested a special
authorization to use an amateur frequency to maintain contact with this amateur
station to keep tabs on the situation at the school. Verbal authority was given
for SSB use in the 14140 to 14145 KHz portion of the amateur band. This was
later shifted to 7070 to 7100 KHz. Also by verbal permission, it appears that
the authorization depended pretty much on what frequencies the Grenada station
could work effectively without interference and would change accordingly.
Ultimately, the net ended up on 14351 KHz.
While no special authorization was given for this out-of-band activity,
the nature of the situation necessitated that it continue. For this reason, the
Commission allowed the communications to continue and will take no enforcement
action against those involved. Signed: Elliott Ours, Chief FCC Enforcement"
(End Quote)
The FCC said that they received many requests from other amateur
operators during the crisis to operate on the Grenada Emergency Net
frequencies. They were all denied to prevent any further interference. Only
about "half a dozen" amateurs were authorized to participate on other than
normal amateur spectrum according to an October 28th news bulletin from the
FCC.
- The Media and the Grenadian Incident
There are many sides to the ham stories in the invasion of Grenada. One
of the more significant ones is the roll that the media played. The Department
of Defense invaded Grenada under an imposed news blackout but private amateur
radio communications were permitted. Many reported, not understanding amateur
radio rules, couldn't comprehend why messahes and private conversation with
Grenada was allowable but not getting status reports from these same private
citizens. Some were furious to put it mildly.
The FCC Private Radio Bureau and the ARRL went over this many times
with various radio, TV and newspaper reporters. They were told that they could
retransmit anything they wanted since Section 605 (Secrecy provisions of the
Communications Act) did not apply to amateur radio. The media was prohibited
from acting as a Third Party (even though these privileges existed for one day)
if they were gathering news reports.
Jim McKinney, Chief of the FCC Mass Media Bureau said that broadcasting
was a professional use of amateur radio and specifically outlawed. He
prohibited broadcasters from using amateur radio as a news
gathering tool, a remote news pickup medium or to conduct interviews that would
be broadcast over other than the amateur service. He cited limitations in the
rules about rebroadcasting from another service.
There was mass confusion as to what could and couldn't be done causing
the FCC to issue a Public Notice on October 26th during the height of the
invasion. IN part, the release said "...broadcasters are cautioned...that in
covering amateur radio activity, they must not become actively involved in the
amateur transmissions. That is to say, the broadcaster may not employ an
amateur stations as it would a reporter or a translator in order to convey,
directly or indirectly, questions or subject matter which the broadcast station
desires to be addressed."
Furthermore, the broadcast stations were directed to advise the FCC how
they had used ham radio in their news broadcasts. The media had trouble
understanding that CB radio could be used as a news communications medium, but
not amateur radio. Some said the administration obviously had something to hide
and that the Constitution guaranteed Freedom of the Press and Speech.
Bill Miller (K4MM) one of the main US participants during the crisis
said that he got a call from a CBS reporter who wanted to do a
live interview via amateur radio. "I practically had to hang up on him he was
so arrogant," BIll said. "I told him point blank I wouldn't do it! He kept on
and on. 'USA Today' (a national newspaper) was here most of the day. The TV
people wanted to come out here and I said "Be my guest." They wanted to do it
live and I said you won't be able to do anything live while I'm on the air."
All across the country, radio and TV stations were showing ham
operators listening to or participating in the Barattella communications. In
all fairness, there was little else they could do. It was a major event and the
news media was frozen out. Representatives of all three networks and one radio
station reported live from the ARRL headquarters station, W1AW, for the better
part of two days, according to Dave Sumner (K1ZZ), League general manager.
- FCC Drastically Reduces Ham Testing
The days are numbered for those applicants who simply want to walk into
an FCC facility and take a Commission administered amateur radio examination.
The FCC Field Operations Bureau has issued an internal
mimeographed memorandum indicating that amateur radio examinations given at all
District FCC Offices throughout the country will be limited to a total of four
during calendar year 1984. The author of the memo was the FCC's Field
Operations Bureau Chief, Richard M. Smith.
The internal notice is now in the process of being printed and will be
distributed shortly. No examinations will be given by the Commission (either at
regular testing points or at remote locations) more often than quarterly. An
appointment must be requested in advance. Needless to say, the opportunity for
upgrading will be drastically reduced next year.
The examinations will be offered at FCC Field Offices during these
periods:
Quarter Testing Dates
------- -------------
1 February 6 through 10, 1984
(Applications received by January 15).
2 May 7 through 11, 1984
(Applications received by April 15).
3 August 6 through 10, 1984
(Applications received by July 15).
4 November 5 through 9, 1984
(Applications received by October 15).
All FCC facilities will give both the commercial and amateur
examinations on those dates. Amateurs should submit their Form 610 applications
at least one month in afvance of the above dates if they want to take a
particular examination. If the situation warrants, more than one day will be
scheduled for testing during the above periods.
It is my understanding that the FCC will be looking for a free facility
other than their current testing rooms to hold the exams because their offices
would not be large enough to accomodate the large number of anticipated
applicants.
While field offices have not received instructions regarding any
correlation between the new FCC testing program and the volunteer examination
procedures recently approved by the Commission, the FCC feels that these will
be numerous other testing opportunities at hamfests and other volunteer
supervised examination sessions. "We are working very closely with the Private
Radio bureau to get that thing moving."